Valley PR Blog

PR in a Jar: Amanda Vega’s New Book

By Linda VandeVrede on December 14th, 2007 In Weekend Reading

Arizona will soon have another published PR author:  Amanda Vega of Amanda Vega Consulting.   Amanda is one of the longest users of social media that I personally know (maybe apart from Francine Hardaway) - she started out as an AOL chat moderator 17 years ago.  At AOL she also helped roll out Instant Messenger and Love@AOL (which is now Match.com’s technology). 

She has lived in Arizona for 5 years and is now putting the finishing touches on her book.   As an author myself, I had some questions for her:

What made you decide to write the book?

I wrote the book after years of finding that some startups did not have the budget to hire our firm (or anyone else really) but were missing out on the power of public relations and how it could drive success to them. I would rather someone attempt to build relationships with the press and generate interest than to ignore this powerful tool.  So I set out to give them the basics and examples of how to do it themselves.

What do you  hope to accomplish with it?

I hope that we find companies have used the book with success, but realize how many hours and finesse it really takes to do PR.  The outcomes of that are either that they realize that they are PR mavens themselves, or that they see the value and now want to invest in someone (hopefully us) doing it for them now that they have budget — – generated by their own PR efforts. 

Is this the first book you’ve ever written?

Aside from my proposals, which can look as long as a book, yes, it’s the first book I’ve written to completion. 

How did you get started?

I really took notes and information from presentations that I have made over the years  (usually PR 101 presentations)and simply expanded upon them in my own voice and cadence.

How did you publish it?

Self published.  (Editor’s note - if you want a helpful site on how to self-publish, check out www.booksjustbooks.com)

Where can we order a copy?

We are still collecting quotes from printers and expect the book to be ready in the first of the year.  You can copies online with the online subscription to the web site, which gives you templates, case studies, media lists, and more for $20 a month.   

How are you promoting the book?

We will do some of our own PR and promote through speaking engagements, press, and using social media. 

Any tips for other would-be authors in Phoenix?

I would just say, start writing.  You never know what knowledge you have that seems simple to you that may be useful to others.  You may want to research book-on-demand or other pseudo publishers before getting your copyright filed and your ISDN number, as it opens up more (and less expensive) options. 

To reach Amanda, call 480-275-9797 or email her at amanda@amandavega.com

www.PRinaJar.com (book and site)

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